Don't talk to me about death panels, Sarah Palin.  —  You, who so carelessly bolstered a lie about healthcare reform to score a cheap political point; you, the most craven of political opportunists, who fearmongers about some dystopian socialist/fascist fantasyland; you …

SEIU Recruits Obamacare Supporters to ‘Drown Out Voices’ in Conn. (Pelosi Will Be Appalled at the 'Un-Americanness')  —  Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer decided to double down on some pretty distasteful messaging today, calling some of the opposition to health care reform, “un-American” …

32% Favor Single-Payer Health Care, 57% Oppose  —  Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone.  A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 57% are opposed to a single-payer plan.

It doesn't take Stephen Hawking to figure this one out  —  The conservative opinion magazine Human Events was reputedly Ronald Reagan's favorite read, and to this day fancies itself the house organ for the hard-right intelligentsia.  Among those published regularly in its pages are such luminaries as Newt Gingrich and Ann Coulter.

Our Fuzzy President Is About To Come Into Focus  —  We're finally going to get to know the real President Obama.  —  Once the final outlines of health-care legislation become clear, we'll know what really matters to him.  Where he draws the line.  How he wields the levers of power.

Judge sentences man to 6 months in jail for yawning  —  6-month term given by judge who has doled out the most charges of contempt in Will  —  Clifton Williams arrived at the Will County Courthouse in Joliet and sat in the fourth-floor courtroom where his cousin was pleading guilty to a felony drug charge.

Lost in Translation: Clinton Says She, Not Bill, is the Secretary of State  —  ABC News' Kirit Radia reports: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost her cool Monday after a Congolese student, speaking through a translator, asked her what “Mr. Clinton” thought about a Chinese trade deal …

As more U.S. troops arrive, is Afghan war worth it?  —  Seventy-five U.S. and NATO troops died in Afghanistan in July, the deadliest month for allied forces in nearly eight years of fighting.  More than 1,000 Afghan civilians have died this year, up 24 percent from 2008.

Obama's Health Care Plan Just Expands Status Quo  —  “The status quo is unsustainable for families, businesses and government.”  — President Obama, June 13  —  One of the bewildering ironies of the health-care debate is that President Obama claims to be attacking the status quo when he's actually embracing it.

NAKED EMPEROR NEWS: 'OBAMA'S MOTHER OF ALL POLITICAL LIES AND THE TOWN HALL MAYHEM IT CAUSED'  —  “But what we will do is, we'll have the negotiations televised on C-SPAN, so that people can see who is making arguments on behalf of their constituents, and who are making arguments on behalf …

George Soros Pledges $5 Million To Bankroll Health Care Reform Push, Group Says  —  In another sign of the urgency gripping the pro-health care reform camp, billionaire George Soros has pledged to sink $5 million into the fight, the group getting the money confirmed.

MSNBC Anchor: “Socialist' Is Becoming the New N-word'  —  UPDATE at end of post: Is this what Newsweek meant when it proudly declared on its cover, “We're All Socialists Now?”  —  Did you know that when you refer to someone as a socialist, you're really calling them the N-word?

Gates ‘Furious’ That Brownback And Roberts Placed A Hold On McHugh's Army Secretary Nomination  —  President Obama named Rep. John McHugh (R-NY) in June as his nominee to become the next Secretary of the Army.  Last week, the Senate Armed Services Committee approved his nomination by voice vote …

Hill jets may be scrapped  —  The new congressional jets may be getting scrapped.  —  After an uproar over a proposed purchase of new executive jets for use by senior government official, including members of Congress, the top Defense appropriator in the House has offered to eliminate funding …

‘Concerned father’ on Fox: Obama's health-care reforms ‘sentencing our families to death’  —  You had to figure that the moment you saw that “concerned father” harassing John Dingell at the town-hall meeting on health care in Michigan, he'd be showing up eventually on Fox News.  After all, it's what they do.

FL-Senate: Breaking Down the Crist Pick  —  Florida Gov. Charlie Crist must pick a replacement for resigning Sen. Mel Martinez.  AP Photo/Phil Coale  —  Florida Sen. Mel Martinez's (R-Fla.) surprise resignation announcement on Friday has put Gov. Charlie Crist (R) in the hot seat as he must pick …

Why Obama will have to raise taxes  —  “Read my lips.  No new taxes.”  George Bush senior made that fatally memorable promise during his campaign for the White House.  Later he saw that for the sake of the economy he would have to break it.  When he did the right thing and went back on his word, he was vilified.

Cross-Examining Forensics  —  On June 25, in a late-term, 5-4 ruling marked by unconventional alliances and sharp disagreement between the justices, the U.S. Supreme Court decided in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts that the Sixth Amendment's Confrontation Clause requires forensic experts whose reports …

Obama Sets Immigration Changes for 2010  —  GUADALAJARA, Mexico — Flanked by his counterparts from Mexico and Canada, President Obama on Monday reiterated his commitment to pursuing comprehensive immigration reform, despite his packed political agenda and the staunch opposition such an initiative is likely to face.

If Only We Had Some Means of Taking Rich People's Money and Devoting it to Public Purposes  —  Internal Revenue Service headquarters, Washington DC (cc photo by cliff1066)  —  I don't think it should come as a shock that the Obama administration's efforts to reign-in or reform compensation policies …

The Unfunny Truth  —  It's been a melancholy summer for social conservatives.  Their movement is fighting a rearguard battle in Barack Obama's Washington.  A cluster of family-values politicians — some of whom bunked down in the same Christian-sponsored D.C. townhouse …

Our Unconstitutional Census  —  California could get nine House seats it doesn't deserve because illegal aliens will be counted in 2010.  —  Printer  —  Friendly  —  Next year's census will determine the apportionment of House members and Electoral College votes for each state.

The McLaughlin Group: Pat Buchanan and Monica Crowley Claim the Government Wants to Promote Suicide to Save Money  —  John McLaughlin uses Pat Buchanan's fear mongering framing for his question on end of life counseling to begin this segment.  Buchanan claims that to save money …

Expelled From the New York Times  —  My sister nailed it many years ago when she said, “Your basic human is not such a hot item.”  —  Keep that filed in your head as I tell my little tale.  —  About five or six years ago, roughly, I was solicited to write a column every two weeks for the Sunday New York Times Business Section.